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Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

There we go. I have been trying to think about what most captures the spirit of One Piece out there and Guardians of the Galaxy probably comes closest.
Again, as I said in the other thread, the quality of this will likely depend on thr creative vision driving the series and this does sound like Oda will be heavily involved ala GRRM in early GoT, so I think I am optimistic. 24 hours ago, I never would have imagined something like this ever getting greenlit but here we are.

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

I've already calmed down and somewhat rationalized this announcement in my head.

Spoiler:

A lot, and I mean a LOT, of things have to be dumbed down for this to work. People have already talked about character design aesthetic, but there's also story pacing, worldbuilding, locales, and island supporting casts. It's definitely possible to cut down plenty on all of these things while keeping the story intact, but story pacing and location is what concerns me the most when you look at how large the arcs are (although some of that has to do with how serendipitous Oda can be) and how frequent the landscapes change and evolve in surreality. Especially if they're going to have every original Straw Hat become a main cast member, meaning that these characters have to be juggled with proper screen time exposure as well. The series can do fine locale-wise for everything up to Skypiea, which is where things just keep getting more and more hectic. Assuming that they don't cut or even introduce almost completely new arcs with some familiar manga/anime elements. But then there's the budget. When it comes to characterization and backstories, I can totally see toned down versions of those. They're all charismatic, relatable (at least emotionally), and captivatingly complex.

Not letting the prejudicial bias of live-action anime and video game adaptations get to me, this has a chance of working if there is enough legitimate creative passion. I want to be optimistic. I can see a live-action East Blue and Alabasta saga One Piece working just barely in my head. But it's really hard for me to imagine what exactly kind of vision, precisely what kind of balance this series needs to strike between the cartooniness of the manga/anime and the realism of live-action. And no, you don't need to make things less colorful and more dark for the sake of it, that's dumb. People can buy into zany, comedic, and lighthearted series live-action or not.

Although I can't really ponder a good creative reason for this to exist aside from making the franchise more marketable. I'm game for all sorts of western comic book series, superheroes or not, to get adapted into live-action. But most of those already take place in realistic settings, and focus on putting the extraordinary in the ordinary rather than going all-out extraordinary. I've never had a problem with the concept of a Spider-Man, Batman, or Superman live-action movie being grounded or even darker in its own right as a movie (conceptually, at least. That doesn't mean I like certain movie installments that sound like that lol). Those are simple ideas that can work because of the appeal in seeing these heroes in our real world environments and complexities that are still at least spiritually similar to the settings of the comics.

And when they do get into fantastical locales, they tend to look... derivative? Maybe a better way of putting it is surreal but not abstract. Not really something that would be out of place in Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. Not that One Piece is absolutely revolutionary when it comes to its arc locales (they tend to be more simple ideas and foreign/historical architecture fused and exaggerated to an absurd degree. Like Thriller Bark being classic horror and Totland being fairy tales and sweets), but it has so many and switches locations so often in the grand scheme that it's difficult to picture it being done "justice". A tv format is definitely better than a movie format story-wise, but movies have much more resources backing them up compared to a tv show.

I don't mind creators looking at series and going "I like what this is doing, but how about we adapt it with our own cool twist on this and that". Whether that twist means alterations in the ambiance, characters, story, etc. I really like, say, the second Planet of the Apes reboot showing the point of view of the apes and taking place in a more contemporary world that gradually gets broken down by warfare for great philosophical prejudice/oppression/war stories in contrast to the rustic dystopian setting of the first films.But it's really hard for me to fathom what exactly is appealing about a grounded version of One Piece. At least superheroes have that cool "what if they were in our world and looked like they were right next to us". But a more realistic One Piece... Why? I'm not inherently against it, just... Why?

And just... Chopper. I can see a toned-down Franky, Jimbei, and even Brook, but freaking Chopper... Maybe puppets like in classic Star Wars with actors and animatronics for other forms? They can't go too CGI-esque, at least not on a tv budget. So no Andy Serkis Chopper lol. Although this makes me wonder how they are going to balance all of the fictional genre inspirations in One Piece with balancing stuff like Devil Fruits, cyborgs, government conspiracies, fate, etc without looking too messy. Although that depends more on built-up suspension of disbelief and proper pacing as we are gradually desensitized as an audience, rather than throwing in something like Thriller Bark into being East Blue's fourth arc or something.

Honestly, I can more easily envision a live-action Naruto series than a One Piece series due to the pacing, locales, and superpowers feeling a lot more "contained". And definitely My Hero Academia. Even Fullmetal Alchemist. But One Piece? I might need to see it to fully believe in the potential to give more than a somewhat reluctant benefit of the doubt. But I am game for a grounded One Piece that is good in its own right, even if it's drastically different from the original incarnation. To look forward to this, I need to really try my best to not compare it to the manga and anime for the sake of it unless it ever acts needlessly dumb when adapting a specific element.

Imagine if this live-action series catches up to the manga before it's finished like Game of Thrones lol.

Last edited by Count Mario; July 21st, 2017 at 05:00 PM.

Spoiler:

"Life's not about finding out which card is yours, but finding out which cards you're not."

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

It's pretty obvious there's no way it could simply follow the source material vertabim--only certain parts and many of the insane or stylized characters will either be dropped or heavily modified.

It would have to be it's own thing. The SH crew must remain as central to the series and they must be looking for Gol D Roger's treasure, but the plotline will likely be overhauled to include the important elements--the Navy, the WG, the pirates, the Warlords. It will no doubt be shortened the world-building much smaller in scope

I mean, Franky will likely look much more in human proportion and may or may not wear a speedo. Maybe just short pants.

Also, I expect the outright cartoon elements will be toned down. There's just no way truly adapt those elements aside from a miracle. Some slapstick sure, but nothing beyond that.

That is all IF this both gets made and lasts more than one season. Very unlikely it will be that long of a series unless it does absurdly well

Lastly, the Japanese-sounding names will likely be changed to be more English. There aren't many Japanese-sounding names in One Piece, but they will likely be altered to be more English-friendly. Also, as mentioned, the shounen tropes like attack-naming will likely be dropped entirely save for rare instances

--- Update From New Post Merge ---

Originally Posted by Kitsune Inferno

There we go. I have been trying to think about what most captures the spirit of One Piece out there and Guardians of the Galaxy probably comes closest.

That is definitely the closest modern-day equivalent. And I think that the teenage crew members will be aged-up slightly toward more of a 20-something band of pirates (save Chopper), though the atmosphere will be less dark overall considering it will take place on the open seas and more brightly lit exotic locales

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

Although I can't really ponder a good creative reason for this to exist

Oda really, REALLY likes Game of Thrones.

Originally Posted by Mr. Luffy

That is definitely the closest modern-day equivalent. And I think that the teenage crew members will be aged-up slightly toward more of a 20-something band of pirates (save Chopper)

Live actors means you cast older, purely due the pressures of filming full time and because if it does last any time at all, they're going to age noticeably. It's also just much easier to take them seriously as conquer the world badasses in their early 20's than around 15.

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

It's pretty obvious there's no way it could simply follow the source material vertabim--only certain parts and many of the insane or stylized characters will either be dropped or heavily modified.

It would have to be it's own thing. The SH crew must remain as central to the series and they must be looking for Gol D Roger's treasure, but the plotline will likely be overhauled to include the important elements--the Navy, the WG, the pirates, the Warlords. It will no doubt be shortened the world-building much smaller in scope

I agree with all of this.

Arlong (and fishmen in general),

I can see them fitting in decently, actually. They just need to rely on good cosmetics and costume work. It doesn't need to be Star Trek level or anything. Something a lot more tame like prosthetics and face paint. And MAYBE a bit of CGI. Also, Fishman Karate is kind of a godsend since it's invisible lol. I want to cite the Orcs in Lord of the Rings as an example of this being able to work, but the movie budget makes me a bit skeptical.

That is definitely the closest modern-day equivalent. And I think that the teenage crew members will be aged-up slightly toward more of a 20-something band of pirates (save Chopper), though the atmosphere will be less dark overall considering it will take place on the open seas and more brightly lit exotic locales

But Guardians had a huge budget though lol. I'm not worried about the concept of having non-human characters at all because of course that can work. What I'm concerned about is how they will execute it without looking too cheap or goofy.

Spoiler:

"Life's not about finding out which card is yours, but finding out which cards you're not."

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

Originally Posted by Count Mario

But Guardians had a huge budget though lol. I'm not worried about the concept of having non-human characters at all because of course that can work. What I'm concerned about is how they will execute it without looking too cheap or goofy.

It might help that Adelstein stated One Piece could be one of the most expensive TV series ever made.

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

Originally Posted by Count Mario

I can see them fitting in decently, actually. They just need to rely on good cosmetics and costume work. It doesn't need to be Star Trek level or anything. Something a lot more tame like prosthetics and face paint.

Do you mean Star Wars? Cause Trek is all facepaint and prosthetics.

I think the farscape approach could work to some degree, with elaborate puppet for Chopper. Maybe combined with CG so that he's practical to have around regularly without being a huge budget drain but able to emote well in closeups.

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

Originally Posted by Robby

Do you mean Star Wars? Cause Trek is all facepaint and prosthetics.

I think the farscape approach could work to some degree, with elaborate puppet for Chopper. Maybe combined with CG so that he's practical to have around regularly without being a huge budget drain but able to emote well in closeups.

Sorry, I got confused with prequel trilogy Star Wars CGI lol.

Spoiler:

"Life's not about finding out which card is yours, but finding out which cards you're not."

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

Originally Posted by Jakisuaki

It might help that Adelstein stated One Piece could be one of the most expensive TV series ever made.

There's also to consider that they get to reuse sets. Once they have the boat they have that forever... and presumably they're not going to island hop every single episode, so they'll settle into a locale and then be able to use that set for a huge chunk of a given season.

The more I hear and the more I stew on it the more I think this has potential.

Yes, there's no reason to believe it'll be good because Hollywood and precedent.

Shows like Arrow and Flash probably have a budget of 2 million per episode. Daredevil was 3-4 mill per episode. 15 years ago when West Wing was running it was nearly 3 million per episode. Lost was several million per episode, and it's pilot was 13 million... but that was mostly because they bought a real plane to destroy.
Game of Thrones averages 8-10 million per episode. And even there budget limitations start to show occasionally.

The most expensive show on tv right now?

Big Bang Theory due to the actor's salaries is 10 million per episode now. For just the actors. On a half hour sitcom.

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

Originally Posted by Robby

Oda really, REALLY likes Game of Thrones.

Live actors means you cast older, purely due the pressures of filming full time and because if it does last any time at all, they're going to age noticeably. It's also just much easier to take them seriously as conquer the world badasses in their early 20's than around 15.

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

I think this will end up with similar quality to Arrow/Flash, Supernatural, and other cheesy CW shows or maybe some of SyFy channel's more ambitious stuff, like the Magicians or even The Expanse. I also expect it to diverge greatly from the plot and style of the manga. No 22 foot tall CGI Moriah.(tho Grodd on The Flash didn't look too bad, so maybe we will get some weird CGI characters afterall)

In a perfect world, we will get some Kung Fu Hustle style and vibes going. I always thought that movie had the closest vibes to One Piece without going the 200 million dollar budget route.

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

For me the biggest hurdle the show will have to overcome is when this dude puts a sword in his mouth to fight and the show expects us to take it seriously. In live action.

We all accept that as perfectly baseline-bonkers as far as OP goes because its cartoons/drawings. To make whichever actor is playing Zoro not look like a complete fool while using Santoryu and thus keep people from immediately changing the channel will be the true test here. Not GumGum powers, not Usopp's nose. Not Nami's perfectly normal sized waist/bust. Santoryu.

The other option would be to not do it.

Pfft. Imagine the fit we'd have if Zoro didn't use 3 swords tho. Sanji smoking a lolipop would be looked back upon fondly compared to this riot.

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

Actually, the thing I'm most worried about is losing Luffy's simplemindedness. He either becomes a wise cracking straight man or someone else gets pushed into that role. Nami could probably fill the straight man role but I worry that would just turn her into the Black Widow/Gamora of the group. The character who doesnt get to be ridiculous.

Re: One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced

Originally Posted by Kitsune Inferno

Actually, the thing I'm most worried about is losing Luffy's simplemindedness. He either becomes a wise cracking straight man or someone else gets pushed into that role. Nami could probably fill the straight man role but I worry that would just turn her into the Black Widow/Gamora of the group. The character who doesnt get to be ridiculous.

Ugh, I hate that. When a series thinks that a straight man has to equate to being a bland character that only reacts to things like a "normal" person (and I don't even think that's normal because everyone has distinct traits and preferences, it just means they're a boring person) instead of also having quirky charismatic traits and agency. I prefer everybody being a bit crazy in their own special way and having different levels/forms of "common sense" so that one character does not always have to repetitively be the straight man.

Spoiler:

"Life's not about finding out which card is yours, but finding out which cards you're not."